This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

Wednesday, 11 January 2017

Speaking about Karbala, Imam Abu al-Faraj ibn
al-Jawzi (r.a.) said, “The most
despicable thing was not that ibn Ziyad ordered the killing of al-Husayn, that
he sent ‘Umar ibn Sa’d and Shimr to carry out the deed, nor even that he
ordered the heads to be carried off to him.
Verily, what is truly despicable were Yazid’s own actions, especially
his poking of al-Husayn’s head with his staff, his carrying off of the
Prophet’s (s.a.w.) family on the
backs of camels in the manner of captives, and his attempt to give Fathimah
bint al-Husayn to the man in his court who demanded her for himself!

Moreover, his recitation of the infamous verses
of ibn al-Zub’ari, ‘I wish my forefathers at Badr were here to witness …” and
his sending the head of al-Husayn to Madina in order for it to be displayed
publicly as if he were a Kharijite rebel are just as deplorable!

Yet, even Khwarij
and rebels are given the dignity of being shrouded in cloth, prayed over, and
buried! Yazid’s statement that he had
the right to enslave, as is evident from his treatment of Fathimah bint
al-Husayn is itself sufficient proof that he should be cursed! If Yazid was not driven by pre-Islamic
inclinations and hatreds, he would not have disrespected the head of al-Husayn
by poking and mocking it; rather he would have allowed it to be shrouded in
cloth, prayer over and buried in dignity; he would also have shown due respect
to the family of the Prophet (s.a.w.)
and treated them well.”